2004, Vol.17, No.1

Journal of Modern English Drama 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.11

pISSN : 1226-3397
https://journal.kci.go.kr/medak

The majority of the Pinter canon includes an unexpected intruder. The intruder figure can be interpreted in many ways. From a Freudian psychoanalytic approach, the intruder may represent a son figure who wants to achieve his unfulfilled oedipal desire in the plays. One can also apply myth criticism with the old king and new king figure. With feminist approach, the woman intruder may attempt to reverse the hierarchy of the patriarchal household. Even with the various approaches, I still feel that there may be another way of explaining the role of the intruder: the intruder figure may, on some level, be eventually no other than the characters themselves, as their doubles. Here, the confrontation with the double reminds one of the myth of Narcissus. Just as Narcissus looks into his image on the water, the characters see themselves, reflected in the doubles.The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the Matchseller who is the intruder and the residents in A Slight Ache from the aspect of the double and narcissism and finally to better understand the seemingly bizarre ending of the play.In sum, Edward and Flora both have a narcissistic experience through their mirror, the Matchseller. While flora succeeds in transforming the mirror image for her own good, Edward fails to grasp the meaning of the mysterious intruder. When he rejects his own image as it is, there is no other way but to be conquered by the overwhelming otherness.

Happy Days is a kind of monodrama. By fabricating the imaginary stage, Winnie invokes on-lookers, characters whose conversations are actually transpiring in her mind. Her theatrical gestures create three different levels of fictional/real audience. i)Mr. and Mrs. Cooker and Shower; ii)Willie on stage listening to his wife's monologue with patience; iii)the real audience. The aesthetics of this dramatic piece is wholly dependent upon the tension generated in the conflict and clash between the corresponding three different dimensions of existence: i)external life; ii)inner life; iii)the theatricality of life. The crux of this play lies in the textual fissure where the theatricality of human existence oozes out. The powerful strategy of stage is to foreground the playfulness in the guise of both theater as ludus and theatrum mundi. Like woman warrior Winnie braves intense heat and light and gravity which look insurmountable; however, she is “not there” where something vital is happening like Hamm. She is no more than an actress on this stage as we roam and fret about on this world stage as actor/actress in the dark. We also ramble and cite from axioms and allusions from classical literature without being awakened to their significance relevant to our life in its genuine sense. In this light, Winnie is our self-portrait hewn out of rougher marble that is us.

Throughout Angels in America (Part 1 and Part 2), American playwright Tony Kushner presents the American society which is filled with disaster such as AIDS, racism, and the collapse of family. Kushner, especially, sees numerous gays dying of AIDS in 1980s and calls the time period the era of catastrophe. He, however, brings the play toward a hopeful future at the end of Part 2.In Part 1, the playwright exposes scars wide open. A major character Prior has AIDS. His body deteriorates and his partner Louis leaves him for another male partner named Joe. Joe's wife Harper is addicted to valium because she suspects that her husband is a homosexual. Roy has AIDS too, but tells others he has liver cancer. Because of this the world in Part 1 is interspersed with disaster, and Kushner declares Prior as prophet at the end of Part 1.In Part 2, Kushner brings genuine human relationships into the play. His characters try to connect to each other, two together rather than one alone. Louis returns to Prior, and at Roy's deathbed Louis, an Afro-American nurse named Belize, and Ghost Ethel (who was executed by her atom spy role) pray for him. Prior survives and the play moves toward a bright future. As the fulcurum of the play's developement and other characters, Prior brings other characters together and announces himself as prophet and blesses the audience. In Part 2 scars are healed, and characters face the future with hope. Symbolically, the Betheda Fountain in Central Park in New York City will flow again and heal those who have been hurt.This way, Kushner puts the emphasis on togetherness and connectedness, and only this will allow people to endure catastrophe and can bring a hopeful future to the society and its residents.